I found this stinkhorn in Central Park, NYC, about a week ago. It's appearently mycorrhizal with a tree. I don't know the name of the tree, but maybe someone else does. I've never seen this before and I don't think that it's elegans or impudicus. I know that so far stinkhorns have not been found to be mycorrhizal before. I dug about a foot down to check this fungus out more and found a HUGE mycelium and a deep slime, which I think were two more stinkhorn "eggs". By the way, the egg is a deeper purple color than the photos show. So I brought the stinkhorn home to dry the specimen. The next day I came back to the spot to take some photos (I forgot my camera the first time), also bringing the specimen, but found that two new stinkhorns of the same species popped up in the same place as the old one (as seen in one of my photos)! Oh, and the smell was less pungent than any other stinkhorn that I've ever found. I really want to know what species this is. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but could this be an undescribed species? the original specimen: http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/1254/img3418tz2.jpg http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/2033/img3416iy8.jpg http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/9650/img3420yv5.jpg here's what popped up the next day: http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/1510/img3435dk7.jpg and here's the only leaf I could find from the tree that the stinkhorn was growing from/around/on http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5255/img3452iy2.jpg it's green on the tree
Looks like a species of Mutinus, possibly M. caninus. Very hard to prove mycorrhizal association without microscopic examination of the tree roots and tissue culture; it may just be using accumulated leaf litter that the tree also happens to be rooting into. The leaf looks like it might be a Tilia leaf, but not definite.
I'm pretty sure that you'r right about the leaf being a Tilia. But what about the purple coloring of the egg, as well as the large mycelium?
That looks like Phallus rubicundus to me: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/phallus_rubicundus.html Note how the head is separated from the stem, unlike in species of Mutinus. Phallus rubicundus is a common fungus in Central Park, according to Gary Lincoff: http://www.nemf.org/files/lincoff/centralpark/index.htm It's probably not mycorrhizal; it typically grows as a saprobe in mulch or in landscaped areas. The proximity to the tree may have been coincidental. Best wishes, Michael
